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‘Beloved’ new mother died of infection at Markham Stouffville Hospital

Infection that killed Ayesha Riaz three days after birth made two other new moms ill at hospital.

On Feb. 10, 2018, Ayesha Riaz died shortly after giving birth to a baby boy named Eesa Ali Ahmad. Ayesha went under septic shock from a Group A streptococcus (GAS) bacterial infection while she was at the hospital. (GOFUNDME)

By Lisa QueenMarkham Economist & Sun

Wed., March 7, 2018

What started out as a blessing for Markham couple Ayesha Riaz and Ahmad Saleem with the birth of their baby boy at Markham Stouffville Hospital turned tragic when the 24-year-old new mom died just days later from a strep A infection.

An outbreak of the infection in the hospital’s maternity ward not only left Riaz dead, but two other women ill.

Riaz’s son Eesa Ali was born Feb. 7. Both the mother and baby were doing well after the early birth, her friend Khalidha Nasiri said in an email.

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“Ayesha and the baby stayed in the hospital for the next few days because she gave birth four to five weeks early, so the baby was to be monitored,” she said.

“On Feb. 10, 2018 around noon, Ayesha underwent sudden septic shock and her organs started failing. It was determined that she had an undetected group A streptococcus (GAS) infection that resulted in the septic shock. Within a matter of a few hours, she died.”

A GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the family outlines the devastation of losing “beloved” Riaz.

“Ayesha was only 24 years old and was just starting her new journey as a mother with her loving husband and family,” it said.

“Ayesha had the most contagious giggles, was never too busy to check in on friends and family and always went out of her way to help everyone in even the most mundane things. In every interaction she had with people, she left a memorable feeling in their hearts. Ayesha loved life!”

The family has “many questions and concerns” about the care Riaz received at the hospital, Nasiri said.

Ayesha Riaz died after giving birth to Eesa Ali Ahmad. (GOFUNDME)

Those include a nurse delivering the baby without the supervision or monitoring of a doctor, worries Riaz had with symptoms she was experiencing that were “dismissed as ‘normal,’ ” and only one doctor in charge of the intensive care unit when she was transferred there on Feb. 10, Nasiri said.

Lisa Joyce, the hospital’s head of communications, said she could not answer some questions, such as whether a doctor was present at the time of birth, due to patient confidentiality.

An internal investigation was launched on Feb. 10 when the hospital identified a suspected case of possible Group A Strep infection, Joyce said.

“At that time, we immediately implemented protocols consistent with an outbreak, including enhanced cleaning and restrictions on the number of visitors,” she said.

Joyce said the hospital notified York Region public health when it learned of the outbreak.

“Like all hospitals, we have an obligation to report Group A Strep cases to Public Health and we did so immediately,” she said.

“As soon as there were indications of a Group A Strep case on the unit, we instituted enhanced cleaning measures and restricted visitors to the unit. We also proactively notified patients who would be coming to the unit about the increase in infections and the restrictions we had put in place.”

The hospital will be undertaking a critical incident review which will examine the “root cause” of this incident and make recommendations aimed at preventing a recurrence, Joyce said.

York Region public health said it was assisting the hospital with its investigation.

On the GoFundMe page, Riaz is praised as a recent University of Toronto graduate who was known as a strong, kind and empathetic women.

She volunteered at Sunnybrook Hospital and tutored children in her neighbourhood.

“Ayesha was a strong believer in social justice and the empowerment of women in every part of the world,” the page said.

Loved ones are hoping to raise $25,000 with 10 per cent of the funds going towards building wells in communities in Pakistan lacking safe drinking water.

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